Silence
by justanotherhipster
Summary: An explosion changes Tony's life.
1. Chapter 1

- **SILENCE** -

The team pulled up just in time to see a man fleeing the scene. Gibbs shot out of the car in pursuit, with Ziva and McGee behind him. Tony dashed toward the building.

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"Halt! Federal agents!" Ziva's yell was not enough to stop the suspect (as usual). The three agents continued to chase him into the woods, guns drawn, until there was a sudden change of events. In a twist of fate the runner tripped over an exposed root and slammed to the ground. Gibbs pulled him up by the collar as McGee handcuffed him.

"Where is the girl?" Gibbs yelled.

"You'll never find her," the man hissed. "She'll be gone any second now."

Still pointing his gun at the suspect, Gibbs turned to McGee and Ziva.

"Where's Tony?"

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Tony ran toward the house. He had to save that girl; he would bet anything that she was in there. He wasted no time in kicking down the door, rushing through each room until, finally, he came across a child strapped to a chair. As she yelled and fought against her restraints, Tony noticed the bomb. It was strapped under the chair, clearly intended to kill the girl. He rushed to her, pulling out his knife to cut the ropes.

"It's okay," he said, even though he knew it wasn't. "I'm going to get you out of here." There was no way of knowing how much time he had to get her to safety, so he worked as fast as possible.

As he grabbed the hostage and rushed out, Tony heard an explosion, and then silence.

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I hope you enjoyed my super-short intro. I promise the rest of the chapters will be longer. / I'm not a very good writer, but I'd love to improve. Please review so I can get better! / I don't own NCIS. I wish I did.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything hurt.

Tony blinked and stared at the ceiling, half conscious. Where was he? It smelled like a hospital. He turned his neck slowly to see the familiar rail of a hospital bed. There were tubes in his arm and somewhere else he didn't want to think about. Ugh. He hated hospitals. They smelled bad and they were full of bothersome people. Why did everything have to be so bright? It hurt his eyes. At least it was quiet.

Tony looked up as the door opened silently and a nurse walked stealthily in. Wow, it really was quiet. The nurse was good looking too. Tony smiled his most charming smile and the nurse smiled back. She moved to his bedside and began to mouth words at him. He frowned. Was this some kind of joke?

"What did you say?" he asked. At least, that's what he thought he asked. His talking made no noise at all. He began to panic as he saw the look of worry spread across the nurse's face. What was happening? Something wasn't right. The nurse left the room, returning quickly with a doctor. The doctor stood at the foot of the bed, writing in a notebook. He turned it around and showed it to Tony.

_Agent DiNozzo, I'm Dr. Newman. Your ears were injured in the explosion. This is why you cannot hear. _

Explosion. Cannot hear. The words tumbled around in his brain. Was this all some sort of horrible dream? Why did this have to happen to him? Tony reached out his arms toward the doctor, who understood, putting the pad and pen in his hands.

_Is it permanent?_

The doctor took the paper back and slowly wrote his answer.

_We don't know._

Tony let his head drop back onto the pillow. How is this possible? He bit back tears as he thought of all the sounds he may never experience again… voices, music, his favorite movies. Could he really live the rest of his life in a world of silence?

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Gibbs stood up quickly as the doctor called his name.

"Are you Agent Gibbs?"

"How is Tony?"

"Like I said earlier, there are no major injuries. He suffered a concussion, but other than that, he's just scratched and bruised." Gibbs compared the news he had just received to the doctor's face, which was creased with worry. They didn't match.

"There's more, isn't there?"

"Unfortunately, the bomb has severely damaged Agent DiNozzo's hearing. He… he may be deaf for the rest of his life."

The doctor's words hit him like a ton of bricks. Gibbs ran his fingers through his hair. Deaf, for the rest of his life? He had barely been injured, but his hearing was permanently damaged?

"It seems that the bomb was poorly constructed," the doctor continued. "It was very loud, but not very powerful."

"I don't care about the bomb!" Gibbs roared. "I want to know about my agent. Are you sure this is permanent?"

"Well, it might not be. With time, it's possible that Agent DiNozzo's hearing will return enough that he might benefit from a hearing aid. Unfortunately, he will definitely be severely hard of hearing."

"When will he improve?" DiNozzo was a fighter. Gibbs knew he would get better.

"He may regain some hearing within a year. If he doesn't improve by then, it's very unlikely that he will ever hear again. In the meantime, Agent DiNozzo should learn to sign. Even if he does regain his hearing, he may prefer using sign language to talking."

This almost made Gibbs laugh. There was no way in hell that Tony would choose moving his hands over running his mouth.

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Abby angrily poked the button on Major Mass Spec and waited for the results. If that bomb had been made to kill, the suspect could be put away for attempted murder, as well as kidnapping that little girl. That man should suffer. She thought off all the satisfying ways to cause him pain… dousing him in acid, hanging him from the ceiling by his ears, pulling out his fingernails one by one.

The ringing phone caused Abby to jump, and then dash to her desk to pick it up.

"Gibbs?"

"Abby…"

"How's Tony? He better be alright. If he's not, I'm going to slap him silly. Well, not really, because I wouldn't want to hurt him. But he deserves it, rushing into a building like that! He should have been more careful! Can I see him? I really miss him and I want to go tell him what I'm going to do to that awful man…"

"Abby."

"Oh, Gibbs… is it bad? It's bad, isn't it…"

"He's deaf."

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god…" Abby burst into tears. Unable to continue the conversation, she hung up.

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Ziva hung up the phone and put her hands to her forehead.

"Was that Gibbs?" McGee's face was overtaken with worry.

"It was."

"Is Tony alright?"

"The bomb… it…" A tear slid down Ziva's face. McGee was surprised and afraid. What could have happened that would be awful enough to make her cry?

"It destroyed his hearing." Wow. Tony's condition really was enough to make a hardened ex-Mossad officer break down. McGee couldn't imagine Tony living without sound… it just wasn't possible.

He walked slowly across the bullpen and gave Ziva a hug.

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I hope you liked the update! I'm having a lot of fun writing this. / I've discovered that I tend to write really short chapters. However, I do update often. / I'm not a doctor and I'm not a bomb expert. I really don't think this is super realistic, but I'm trying. / Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I didn't expect so many people to find my story interesting… / I don't own NCIS. I wish I did.


	3. Chapter 3

When he woke up, Tony was surprised to see Abby sitting at the foot of his bed. When she saw his eyes open, she jumped up and began waving her hands excitedly. He struggled to interpret her bizarre hand dance and finally came to the conclusion that she was signing. He wanted to say "Abby, I don't understand," but how was he supposed to talk when he couldn't even hear his own voice? He sighed and made his most convincing 'confused' face. Abby understood.

"Sorry," she mouthed, moving her fist in a circle on her chest.

Tony reached for the pad and pen next to his bed, but Abby ran over and grabbed it first.

_I was so worried._

Tony took the pad from her.

_Don't be. I'm fine._

This made Abby angry. She snatched the pad back and scribbled a response.

_No you're not! You can't hear!_

Tony felt tears welling up in his throat. She was right. He wasn't fine. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he was afraid. He grabbed the pad from Abby.

_Where's Gibbs?_

Abby held up one finger, successfully conveying her message; 'just a minute'. She left and was back seconds later dragging Gibbs by the wrist. Gibbs said something, and then Abby nodded and left. He sat down in a chair next to the bed.

Tony drew a circle on his chest with his fist.

Gibbs pointed to his palm and then moved his fingers against it, mouthing "sign of weakness."

Tony smiled and picked up the pad.

_I shouldn't have run into that building._

Gibbs frowned and took the pad from him.

_You saved that little girl's life._

_Is she deaf too?_

_She's severely hard of hearing._

Tony couldn't believe it. He felt selfish thinking it, but it wasn't fair that the little girl could still hear, even just a little bit, and he couldn't.

Gibbs and Tony looked up in unison as the door opened. It was McGee, and he seemed to be carrying a sizable pile of electronics. After conversing for a few moments with Gibbs, he handed Tony an electronic tablet. A message blipped onto the screen.

_Hi Tony!_

Tony turned to McGee, who was grinning widely.

_I wrote this program for you, _he continued. _Now we can talk!_

Tony typed a message in the text box and hit the 'send' button.

_Thanks, McGeek._

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Gibbs strode past the secretary and pushed open the door to Director Vance's office.

"You wanted to see me?" Vance sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair. Gibbs stood in front of him, arms crossed in front of his body.

"Agent Gibbs, we need to talk about Agent DiNozzo," Vance began.

"I can assure you that Agent DiNozzo is still able to do his job," Gibbs spat. "There are a handful of cops that are deaf or hard of hearing."

"I wasn't planning on firing him. I just can't let him work in the field unless he regains his hearing."

"DiNozzo is a damn good agent, and he can do whatever he wants." Gibbs was fuming.

"I'm sure you're aware how easy it would be for someone to sneak up on a deaf agent. Are you sure you want to put him in that kind of danger?"

"Do you really think he would be in danger working with three other agents?"

"Gibbs, you need to think about this. I won't let you put DiNozzo in the field until he's ready."

"This is my senior field agent you're talking about!" Gibbs roared.

"McGee will be your senior field agent until further notice. I'm done talking about this."

"The hell you are," Gibbs mumbled, as he stormed out of the room.

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Tony was starting to enjoy the solitude when the door opened yet again. This time, his visitor was unfamiliar. She sat down in Gibbs' chair and picked up the tablet. Tony studied her face. She was definitely pretty. She had long brown hair and wide blue eyes. And, oh boy, those legs! The grey pencil skirt accentuated how long and lean they were. The flash of his tablet as it received a message tore him out of his fantasy.

_Hi, Agent DiNozzo, my name is Monica. I'm an ASL interpreter._

_Please, call me Tony._ He flashed his charming crooked smile.

_Ok, Tony. Do you want me to teach you to sign?_

Tony nodded.

_Let's start with your name. _She fingerspelled T-O-N-Y. Tony copied her motions and she smiled and nodded in approval.

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Ziva and McGee sat at their respective desks in the bullpen. Abby sat at Tony's. They had been sitting like this for an hour. Since there wasn't much of a case now that the perp was caught, the agents were doing paperwork. Abby was waiting for the results of another test. Ziva was first to break the silence.

"I should have gone with him."

"Ziva!" Abby scolded, "Don't say that! You were chasing the suspect. You did the right thing."

"You should go see him, Ziva," McGee suggested.

"Come on, Ziva!" Abby jumped up from Tony's desk. She grabbed Ziva's hand and pulled her toward the elevator.

"You too, Timmy," she added. The three of them headed into the elevator.

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Ducky looked up when he heard the sliding doors open. Gibbs strode into autopsy with a concerned look on his face.

"Jethro! It's good to see you."

"Hey, Duck."

"Jethro, I heard about Anthony's condition. How is he doing?"

"He's acting the same as always, refusing to admit that he's afraid."

"I know this is a sensitive subject, but… have you talked to him about his job?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, I don't want to tell him yet. He's going through a lot."

Ducky sighed. NCIS just wouldn't be the same without Tony.

"I assume he won't be working in the field…"

"Well, not until he gets his hearing back."

"Jethro, you do know -" Gibbs cut him off.

"Yeah, Duck, I know it's just a chance. But I also know DiNozzo, and he's not going to give up. He _will_ get his hearing back."

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I hope you liked the latest chapter! I'm trying to get as many chapters as possible done before my power goes out because of the hurricane. Keep your fingers crossed that my power will come back quickly so I can update ASAP! / I'm not a doctor and I don't know ASL, so I hope this is realistic. / I don't own NCIS. I wish I did. / Please review!


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